Former FBI Director James Comey said Monday he took inspiration from a visit to Mount Rushmore in a brief message sent amid a chaotic day of headlines that included an order from President Trump to declassify Comey's text messages related to the Russia investigation. "Enjoyed today’s visit: An inspiring reminder that we always emerge stronger from hard times," Comey tweeted along with a photo in front of the memorial in South Dakota. Comey, who was fired in May 2017 and regularly tweets both subtle and overt criticisms of Trump, sent his latest message a short time after the president ordered...

President Trump has a lot on the line in this fall’s midterm elections. So, he’s decided to turn for help to the man he trusts the most — himself. In the remaining 75 days until ballots are counted, Trump will invest at least 40 of them in campaigning for Republicans in both House and Senate races. He will spend additional time on fundraising for candidates and the party .And you may have noticed, this president is quite comfortable with spur-of-the-moment decisions. So, it’s likely he will add even more campaign days along the way as races and political needs develop....

Senate Republicans are warning President Trump that it would be a serious mistake to pardon his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted late Tuesday on an array of fraud charges. “It would be an enormous mistake and misuse of his power to pardon,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a prominent moderate, told reporters. Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (Texas), the second-ranking Senate GOP leader, said that pardoning Manafort “would be a mistake.” Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.), the third-ranking member of the GOP leadership, said he is not aware of any mitigating circumstances related to Manafort’s case...

Sioux Falls Police arrested an apparent antifa radical on Tuesday after finding a "concerning" number of illegal firearms and bomb-making materials in his apartment while serving a search warrant in connection with three area burglaries. Police also found antifa-related items during their search, including an antifa jacket and an anti-police manifesto. Authorities reportedly evacuated the surrounding area and called the Sioux Falls Police bomb squad.

One question before the Supreme Court this term was a big one: As technology evolves, how do our laws governing commerce evolve with it? The answer, issued in the ruling held in a 5-4 decision on Thursday, is a bad one for taxpayers. Many proponents of an online sales tax have argued that we must completely revisit what we know about interstate commerce, and create illusory tax regimes to contemplate a brave new order of online transactions. In reality, none of this is true. For one, while it has been 26 years since the Supreme Court visited the issue in...

A dozen House lawmakers have introduced legislation to remove President Trump's tariffs on Canadian newsprint so a study can be done on how much those tariffs are crushing local newspapers around the country. The bill, introduced by Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., is a response to the 22 percent tariff that the Trump administration has imposed on some Canadian newsprint since the beginning of this year. Noem said that tariff has led to rising costs for local newspapers, and are a threat to their survival. "In recent years, new tariffs on Canadian newsprint have increased paper prices by 20 to 30...

Vulnerable senators up for reelection have adopted a strategy of silence in response to the president’s avalanche of putdowns. Jon Tester was on his farm in rural Montana when his phone rang with the news: It was his chief of staff, informing him that the president of the United States had just called for his resignation on Twitter. The Montana Democrat briefly considered President Donald Trump’s latest attack on him, then fired up his tractor and went on his way. Tester wasn’t going to get into it with Trump over the senator’s role in bringing down the president’s Veterans Affairs...

Rural residents turn to cheap heating fuel ... Monte Miller shovels a load of coal into a bucket and makes the short journey from his storage shed to his home on the edge of Bayfield, joking aloud that his wife likes to keep the temperature at a steady 75 degrees. “But we don’t have any problem doing that with coal,” Miller and his wife, Marsha, have been using coal as their main source of fuel since they moved to their home in 2000. Each year, the couple uses about 2 tons of coal to keep their 2,500-square-foot house warm throughout...

In fairly short order, the Supreme Court is going to begin hearing arguments in the case of South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc. This case is being closely watched around the country because of the potential impact it will have on consumers as well as retailers, both traditional and online. The state of South Dakota is asking the Supremes to overrule their 1992 decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, which held that states could not force online retailers to collect sales tax in other states where the company didnâ€™t have a physical presence.Now the White House has weighed in on...

FULL TITLE: South Dakota Passes Bill Requiring Planned Parenthood to Tell Women Abortion Kills a “Living Human Being” South Dakota lawmakers passed a pro-life bill Monday that requires abortion facilities to tell women that an abortion kills a “living human being.” The informed consent bill passed the state legislature with strong support and now heads to Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who is expected to sign it, the Argus Leader reports. On Monday, 56 state representatives supported the bill, while nine opposed it. South Dakota requires abortion facilities to tell women that an abortion will “terminate the life of a whole, separate,...

When homeschooling mom Sara Valle volunteered to spend a day at the South Dakota Capitol promoting equal sports access for homeschoolers, she expected a battle. What she didn’t expect was that the opposition to her advocacy would include far more than just arguments on the Capitol floor. Sara had been asked by South Dakota Christian Home Educators (SDCHE) to testify in support of H.B. 1120, a bill which would allow homeschool students to participate in public school sports. As a homeschooling veteran and mother of three, she was happy to advocate for more opportunities for homeschool students. She had also...

More than two dozen Senate Republicans are urging President Trump to re-engage in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The 25 GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Trump on Friday saying they support his recent comments that he may consider U.S. participation if the 11-nation Asia-Pacific pact is improved.

Pro-amnesty GOP Senators are working hand-in-glove with Democrats to block a government budget until President Donald Trump agrees to break his campaign promise and his presidency by amnestying millions of wage-lowering illegal immigrants. The hostage-taking is being fronted by a group of GOP legislators, led by Sen. Jeff Flake and Sen. Lindsey Graham, who announced Wednesday they would not allow 2018 funding for the Pentagon until Trump approves an amnesty, saying:

For the first time in years, there is an emerging consensus that the biggest racket in national politics deserves to end. Earlier this month, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and 10 other Republican senators held a luncheon summit at the White House with President Trump with the goal of drastically reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard, the federal mandate that annually funnels $13.5 billion from the wallets of American fuel and food consumers into the coffers of agribusiness giants. Before the national nightmare of Obamacare, there was the RFS, the most sweeping and intrusive federal intervention in the American economy undertaken in...

Congressional Republicans say they reached agreement on a final tax bill that will provide a new 20-percent deduction for pass-through income from farms and small businesses. The agreement, which the House and Senate are expected to take up early next week, also calls for doubling the estate tax exemption and will include key expensing provisions that farm groups sought to preserve and expand, lawmakers said. They said the agreement also would allow deduction of state and local taxes, including income and property taxes, up to $10,000, a concession to lawmakers in high-tax states that could also benefit farmers. Senate Agriculture...

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Your World,” Senate Republican Conference Chair Senator John Thune (R-SD) argued it would be best if Alabama Republican Senate nominee Judge Roy Moore stepped aside. Thune said, “[I]f and when he gets here, there’s going to be this cloud, I think there’s going to be an ethics investigation. I think that’s probably inevitable, and that it would — everybody would be better served if he would step aside and allow somebody else to run, even as a write-in candidate, I think we win that seat with a Republican. But the president sounds...

On this weekend’s broadcast of “Fox New Sunday,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) said he would like to see President Donald Trump ask Alabama GOP Senate hopeful Roy Moore to step aside. Thune said, “I would like to see the president come out and support what many of us have said and that is that Roy Moore needs to step aside, allow somebody else to be write in candidate. We can win that seat.” He continued, “If Roy Moore wins and he comes into the Senate in January there will immediately be an ethics investigation which is going to be a...

(KSFY) - For the first time in decades, a U.S. Navy ship will bear the name South Dakota. Navy officials will christen a new fast attack submarine the "U.S.S South Dakota" in a ceremony Saturday morning in Groton, Conn. at 9:00 a.m. C.T. You can watch the ceremony live here. According to Capt. Deb Bodenstedt, the ceremony will include the traditional smashing of champagne across the bow by the boat’s sponsor. “South Dakota’s” sponsor is Mrs. Deanie Dempsey, wife of the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. Governor Dennis Daugaard will also speak at the...

A story that should be getting more attention is one out of the Black Hills of South Dakota. It doesn't get much more interesting than a depredating lion, a 14 year old hunter protecting the family livelihood, and a rifle won at an NRA raffle.The story has already been written by Tom Griffith. The article is well done. I do not want to steal the author's thunder. Here is an excerpt to the rapidcityjournal.com: After a long, sad day, Streff’s youngest child, 14-year-old Dalton, who fancies himself a hunter, told his mother he was going to go sit in...